Big Blonde

“Big Blonde” is a short story written by Dorothy Parker. It was first published in 1929 in The Bookman (a prestigious New York City literary magazine) and won the O. Henry competition for the best story that same year. It was later published in Parker’s 1930 short-story collection Laments for the Living.

This study guide refers to the online flipbook version of “Big Blonde.”

Content Warning: The source text contains references to domestic violence, alcohol addiction, and death by suicide.

“Big Blonde” uses an omniscient third-person point of view, which means that the narrator isn’t a character in the story but has an all-knowing awareness of what’s going on in the main character’s mind and the minds of the other characters. The story, which is set in New York City during the 1920s, is told in four parts. The first part focuses on the early days of the protagonist, Hazel Morse; the second part describes her downward spiral and attempted death by suicide. In the final two parts, Hazel—having survived an overdose of sedatives—recovers and comes to terms with what seems an unbearably bleak future.

The story opens with a description of Hazel, an attractive, busty blond woman who works as a dress model. After modeling for several years, Hazel meets Herbie Morse, a hard-drinking, wisecracking salesman whose primary appeal is his ability to entertain her. Their mutual attraction leads to a six-week fling that culminates in marriage, which thrills Hazel. Although other men previously proposed to her, she didn’t consider them appropriate marriage material. Most were from out of town, and she couldn’t envision a life outside New York City. Now approaching 30, Hazel embraces domesticity and fully enjoys her new role as Mrs. Herbie Morse.

Hazel finds married life relaxing; she hadn’t realized how tiring it was to constantly play the role of “good sport,” which is what her suitors seemed to love most about her. Now, finally, she’s free to express her bouts of melancholy. At first, Herbie responds to her sad moods with patience and solicitude; however, over time, he simply gets annoyed and admonishes her to “stop crabbing.” He prefers the former “good-time” girl he married. Soon, he spends more time drinking after work, coming home later and later.

To soothe herself in Herbie’s absence and blur the sharp edges of her life, Hazel resorts to solitary daytime drinking. In addition, she begins to spend time with a new neighbor, Mrs. Martin, “a great blonde woman of forty, a promise in looks of what Mrs. Morse was to be” (9). Hazel is soon spending her evenings with Mrs. Martin and the group of fun-loving men who visit nightly to drink and play poker. In this setting, Hazel slips seamlessly back into her “good sport” persona and finds herself the favorite of Ed, one of the regular visitors to Mrs. Martin’s home. Attentive, affectionate, and generous, Ed becomes Hazel’s special friend, often staking her at poker games, where Hazel’s good luck earns her a few extra dollars.

Hazel appreciates Ed’s financial assistance, especially now that Herbie has become rather tightfisted. Their relationship is now a marriage in name only, and it comes as no surprise when Herbie abruptly announces that he’s leaving for good to take a job in Detroit. He leaves Hazel with a bit of money and the furniture in the flat. Hazel responds with little emotion and suggests that they have a drink before he leaves to catch his train. They toast each other with “Here’s mud in your eye” (13), a saying that recurs at the end of the story.

After Herbie’s departure, Hazel’s relationship with Ed becomes more serious. He seems smitten, even asking for a photograph so that he can look at it when he’s away. Hazel, however, isn’t equally smitten; she seems unfazed, passively accepting his gifts and quietly accepting a regular allowance. They eventually move to an apartment that’s more convenient for Ed.

Ed and Hazel continue their relationship for nearly three years, during which time he supplies her with a generous allowance. However, as in her relationship with Herbie, Hazel must be careful with her moods. Although she and Ed don’t get into serious arguments, he expects her to be cheerful: “He insisted upon gaiety. He would not listen to admissions of aches or weariness” (17). When he moves to Florida, he leaves her financially set. On his rare visits to New York, he seems eager to see her. Hazel accepts his visits gracefully but with little emotion; she’s never sad at his departure. Besides, she’s soon immersed in a new relationship—or, rather, a string of relationships.

Hazel never has trouble attracting men, and she has dalliances with several, most of them habitués she meets at a speakeasy called Jimmy’s. None of these relationships are meaningful to her. More than anything, they’re a means of financial support. Several years pass, and she entertains a string of suitors, the last of whom is Art. All the while, however, she’s plagued by increasingly worse bouts of sadness. Art, like those before him, finds Hazel’s gloomy moods depressing and constantly urges her to sleep them off and cheer up, which only makes her feel more hopeless. She soon begins to fixate on thoughts of death by suicide, seeing it as her only option.

In the last section of the story, after Art leaves on a business trip, Hazel seizes the opportunity to follow through on her fantasy to die by suicide, for which she has been preparing the past few weeks. She overdoses on the sedative veronal. However, after her maid finds her nonresponsive in her bedroom, she’s revived and wakes up to face a bleak, meaningless future. She now seems resigned to her role as a “good sport,” and her only hope is that she can rely on alcohol to get her through it.